Lough Swilly RNLI complete busy week of volunteer crew assessments
Lough Swilly RNLI is delighted to announce that two of its volunteer crew members successfully completed Tier 2 pass-out and that two volunteer helms achieved their Helm revalidation.
The pass-outs, conducted on Wednesday night, included time at sea in Lough Swilly on the inshore lifeboat, Davdot and time ashore with Sean Ginnelly, Coastal Lifeboat Trainer. Dawn Lambe and Barry Nixon completed their inshore lifeboat Tier and Barry Johnson and Barry Stevenson also completed their Helm revalidation earlier in the week.
For the volunteer crew, training is a continuous, structured programme over hundreds of hours, covering boat-handling, sea and rescue, radar, radio communications, casualty care and emergency procedures.
Amy McCarter-Phillips, Lough Swilly RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Training Co-ordinator, speaking following the assessments said: ‘I am delighted for the crew members who completed their Tier 2 and revalidation assessments. I know that they dedicated a significant amount of time and effort in their training.'
This commitment from the volunteers was also reflected in the feedback from Sean Ginnelly, the Coastal Lifeboat Trainer, who noted ‘that both pass-outs and revalidations were completed to a very high standard’.
Joe Joyce, Lough Swilly RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at the station observed: ‘Successful assessments are the culmination of extensive training at station, with coastal trainers here and at the Lifeboat College in Poole. Our volunteers gain competencies in a structured programme, involving many hours as sea and ashore. They are supported by their peers at station who manage their progression through the competency activities’.
Average annual training cost of a crew member is €1,645 and the RNLI as the charity that saves lives at sea, is funded by the generosity of the public.
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RNLI Media Contacts
For further information, please contact:
Bridgita Kelly, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI Ireland, [email protected]
Nuala McAloon, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Ireland, 087 648 3547, [email protected]
Niamh Stephenson, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Ireland, 087 125 4124, [email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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